


Inconsequential

by AB__BA



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst, Emotions, Gen, Light Angst, POV Mello | Mihael Keehl, Wammy's Era, Wammy's House (Death Note), Wammy's House Era (Death Note)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:22:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28354629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AB__BA/pseuds/AB__BA
Summary: Mello is bested by Near, again. In retaliation, Mello decides to stalk Near for a day and gets more insight into his rival than he expected.
Relationships: Mello | Mihael Keehl/Near | Nate River
Comments: 5
Kudos: 53





	Inconsequential

Mello had gotten second to Near _again._

The teen stormed through Wammy’s House with a special fury reserved for exam day results. He fucking _hated_ that sheep. No matter how hard he worked, how hard he studied…that damn Near always bested him.

It was almost as if Near wasn’t human. Everyone made mistakes, thought Mello. Everyone but Near. How was it possible to consistently score perfect in Maths, Geography, History, even _Latin_? Mello always got a point or two deducted, but Near never did. The stupid kid rarely seemed to study and never appeared to give a damn.

Was it favoritism?

No, that couldn’t be right. Mello had, in exams past, taken Near’s tests from him to find some mistake, _any mistake_ in attempt to discredit his score. He had tried to find something incorrectly written or poorly explained but was never able to.

Angrily, Mello thought of the last English essay. Essays were subjective, right? Especially the persuasive ones which generally relied on provoking emotion from the reader to drive home an idea or concept. But, somehow Near excelled at those too. He would be able to turn on a switch in his brain and write something that was both logically sound, emotionally persuasive and with perfect grammar to boot.

Mello stomped around the orphanage, kicking over furniture, punching random walls, destroying toys and snapping at anyone that looked in his direction.

At this point, everyone at Wammy’s knew to stay out of his way. Even Roger had given up and let him do as he pleased. He was fourteen anyway, almost old enough to get out of there.

He was looking for Near.

To Near’s credit –he always knew how to avoid Mello during these times. While Near didn’t share Mello’s emotional volatility, he could at least understand its consequences to his personal safety.

Mello checked everywhere – in the playroom, Near’s bedroom, closets, even under the kitchen tables and outside. He honestly didn’t even know what he wanted to do if he found Near. He just knew that he wanted to make him hurt. Make him hurt as much Mello was hurting. Make him express some damn emotion for once.

He stomped into the one of the halls leading to the bedrooms and paused upon hearing noises emerging from one of the rooms. Mello quietly advanced toward the source. The noises were voices that gradually got clearer.

“…doesn’t seem to care about anything.”

“Look at him, he’s so small like a baby. He’ll never be able to do anything on his own.”

There was a sound of something thumping against the wall or floor.

“Aw, look he’s glaring at us. Little baby gonna cry?” Laughter and the sound of footsteps followed.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. I want to play some video games.”

“See ya, freak.”

Hearing the footsteps approaching, Mello ducked out of the hall and hid behind the adjacent stairwell. The group filed down the hall in the opposite direction, laughing and joking. They had already moved on to another topic.

For a moment, Mello felt himself unable to move. He hated Near, but for some reason the idea of other people bullying Near made his blood boil. Near was _his_ prey. Only he had the right to hurt Near. He found himself clenching his fists in anger. He was sure he was angry, but he wasn’t sure what exactly he was angry at.

He shook his head rapidly.

Mello peaked past the side of the stairwell to look back into the hallway. There was a flash of white hair and clothing (Near) disappearing into his bedroom. Strangely, Near had made no noise and the only sound that was the quiet clicking of the door shutting behind him.

Mello decided what he would do. If he was going to assert his dominance over Near, the other kids would have to lay off. To do that, he would need more intel. Who exactly they were, how many and most importantly, how to intimidate them into staying away from Near.

He felt he was being extremely generous. Protective, even. This would make Near owe him and was something that he could _indisputably_ win at. (Never mind the fact that he was still Near’s bully. That contradiction would be saved for a later time.)

Once he had resigned himself to, essentially, stalk Near for the forseeable future, he quickly left to grab a bar of chocolate and a book and seated himself behind the stairwell. This would be the perfect spot to keep an eye (or ear rather) on Near until he came out.

\---

An hour passed.

Mello was actually considering scrapping his entire plan at this point. He had already taken three trips back to his room to get more chocolate, and his book was boring as hell (it was advanced calculus theory). Just as he was about to pack it all up, the sound of a door opening caught his ear.

Listening intently, Mello was certain it was Near as he heard no accompanying footsteps. Leave it to Near to have weird silent footsteps. He considered peaking past the side of the stairwell again, but thought better of it. Near would be able to see him if he was heading in this direction.

Near went into another room (the opening of the door indicating as such), spent a minute or two inside, then clicked the door shut again. This time, Mello’s curiosity got the better of him and he peered over the side of the stairwell –catching the sight of Near exiting the hall, heading toward the common rooms. He had one of his robots under his arm.

Quickly grabbing his things, Mello followed Near’s route through the building. Near walked past the playroom and the main entrance and stopped in the dining room. This seemed strange to Mello. It was only about mid-afternoon and Wammy’s House usually didn’t give out snacks between meals.

Near set his robot and something from his pockets on the table. He then proceeded to go through the drawers around the room. He carefully slid each one open, checking the contents within, then closing and proceeding to the next. _Seems like he’s looking for something_ , Mello thought.

After a while, Near seemed to find what he was looking for and got seated at the table where his robot was. It was only after he started working on his toy that Mello finally realized what the kid was up to. He was fixing it. The head of Near’s robot had come detached from the body, as well as the right arm and leg. Near was gluing the broken pieces back together. The sheep must have doubled back to the room where the kids that were harassing him had broken it.

Mello felt a rare inkling of sympathy for Near. He silently continued to watch from the crack between the door and its frame between the hinges. He had personally broken quite a number of Near’s robots and stuffed toys over the years. He always figured Near didn’t care since he always got a lot more for his birthdays and Christmas and he never seemed to complain.

His rival and most-hated person seemed, in this moment, very human.

Once Near was satisfied with his repair work, he lay his robot on the windowsill then set the glue back into its drawer. He then headed to his next destination. Mello ducked into one of the supply closets nearby, keeping the door cracked a little so he could see where Near was headed next.

Near’s next destination was again somewhere unexpected– Roger’s office. Near quietly knocked on the big oak door and entered upon hearing a “Come in!”

Mello was intrigued. What could Near possibly be doing in Roger’s office? He must already know his exam score. That was posted in the morning. Beyond academics, Mello didn’t associate Roger with anything else at the orphanage.

Near didn’t spend long in Roger’s office. Mello barely had time to again duck into another room before he came out with a small bag of something in hand.

Mello realized that he had no idea what a typical day looked like to Near. He had been so focused on beating his rival that he rarely (read - never) thought about what Near did in his free time. (All of Mello’s free time was spent hanging out with Matt, playing games and studying to beat Near.)

Belatedly, Mello realized he was supposed to follow Near and hastened to catch up before he lost sight of him. This time Near was headed outside. Mello instantaneously realized two things: one, it would be very difficult to ~~stalk~~ follow Near outside as there was a pretty limited number of structures or trees to hid behind and two, since when did Near voluntarily go outside?

He would have to continue observing Near from a room inside the orphanage with a proper outward-positioned window in order to avoid being noticed. It seemed that Near had not yet caught onto the fact that he was being followed. For someone who was looking to be the successor of the greatest detective ever, the kid seemed pretty oblivious.

Mello followed Near as far as possible before he disappeared behind the side of the building. Near seemed to be headed to the back of the property. As the entirety of Wammy’s House was fenced off, children could not and were not permitted to leave the premises without adult supervision.

Mello dashed from room to room, trying to intuitively follow Near’s path. He periodically spotted Near through windows as the boy made his way along the back edge of the premises. Mello finally came to an unused classroom on the first floor. The room was brightly lit with sunlight streaming past uncurtained windows. There was the faint smell of chalk lingering in the air and classroom desks were lined in neat rows. The windows on the far wall were rolled open to let in the summer air. Near had stopped right outside one of the windows.

Mello tentatively approached. He realized with relief that he had a view of Near from his slightly elevated position inside the classroom, while Near wouldn’t see him unless he looked up. Mello seated himself on the windowsill to continue his observation.

Near’s whiteness contrasted sharply with the brown and greens outside. Mello thought to himself that Near appeared quite ghostly (and definitely like an indoor type of kid).

Near gingerly held the small bag from Roger in both hands. He grabbed hold of the neck and carefully emptied its contents into a metal bird feeder.

Ah, that answered some questions.

After filling the bird feeder, Near carefully sat down on a nearby log and began to quietly hum. It was so quiet that Mello almost had to press his ear to the window screen to make sure he was seeing –and hearing– right.

It was music that he hadn’t heard in years. Lullabies that the nurses used to sing to the kids when they were infants. There were no words, just tones. Near hummed one song, then a second and third. Near seemed to have a whole library of songs and his humming (if Mello was being completely honest) wasn’t bad.

Mello was stunned. It would be an understatement to say he wasn’t expecting this. He honestly thought of Near as an emotionless robot that liked toys and _maybe_ wanted to be L one day. This kid was…strangely cute. Endearing, even. Near’s eyes were closed and his expression was soft.

His entire perception of Near had shifted within the span of a couple hours. Was this the same kid that he hated? The one that he was determined to take down no matter what?

Was this really the enemy standing between him and his dream?

He was starting to feel feverish. He must be getting sick.

When Near finished humming his last song (Mello had no idea how much time had passed while he was having an internal mental breakdown), things went quiet. Not even five seconds later, however, his hums were replaced with the chirping of actual birds.

No fucking way.

Mello was not expecting today of all days to be the one where he comes to terms with the fact that Near was an _actual_ _fucking Disney princess_.

He needed a drink. No, not really but figuratively. 

And just when he thought things couldn’t take an even stranger turn, he heard Near speak.

“Hello Mr. Pecker, I see you had a good afternoon. Ms. Pigeon, good day to you. I hope the rest of you are enjoying this favourable weather.”

Near paused for a moment, as if he was thinking of what to say next.

“This morning when I awoke, I checked the results board. I ranked first and Mello second.” The birds continued to chirp and pecked fervently at the seeds.

Near continued, “I…must concede that I am afraid of him. He damages my toys when he is upset. Two days prior, he ripped Mr. Bunny’s head. I liked Mr. Bunny.” Near paused for a long time before continuing. Mello noted that he did this a lot. Near was socially awkward due to rarely ever speaking out loud.

“…Roger informed me the tear would be labourious to repair. He agreed to purchase a replacement bunny, however…” the next part was so quiet that Mello had to strain his head almost completely against the screen to hear “…my late mother gifted me Mr. Bunny and he’s always been at hand during my time at Wammy’s House.”

Near spoke with the same monotone that he normally did. The words, however, sounded foreign Mello even though he understood every word. Guilt gripped him as he vividly recalled detaching the head of the aforementioned stuffed toy. He remembered having just lost to Near again on an assignment, which usually called for the destruction of at least one of Near’s toys. He had thought at the time that Near almost appeared sad. But, as he figured was the case with Near, that emotion was probably imagined.

He was such a jerk.

Mello knew he was absolutely intruding on Near’s privacy. He knew that the right thing to do would be to stop listening. He realized with a further twinge of guilt that Near’s only friends were these birds and his toys. Nobody at Wammy’s House was really a “friend” of with Near as his cold demeanor and blunt speech often put people off. Not only that, but as Near consistently scored at the top of the class, he was known as the genius kid at Wammy’s that needed to be humbled. Mello privately knew that he wasn’t the only one that picked on Near. Near was a target for the entire institute. He was a punching bag that didn’t fight back.

Mello closed his eyes and took a deep, silent breath to calm his thoughts.

“…Johnny and a few other children broke Robolo today. They insisted that I exhibited the appearance of a baby. They pushed me to the ground. I disliked it greatly…I subsequently located adhesive for the repair, but I expect I have lost the freedom of movement of his joints.”

Near continued on in this manner. He surmised his daily events and observations to the birds out of chronological order. He made random remarks of insignificant things such as the time when Conner had seized Linda’s chocolates for dessert or the title of Matt’s new video game. Near often made long pauses and sometimes switched the topic entirely and without context.

Mello was hanging on to every word. Sure, not everything was interesting (if he was honest, most of it was quite dull) but this was the most he had ever heard Near speak. He wondered if this was the only place where Near could speak freely.

Once Near decided he had spoken enough, he bid farewell to his bird friends and headed back the way he came. Mello decided to also return the way he had come from the inside of the building and would catch up to Near again at the main entryway.

Near, however, didn’t appear to make it all the way. Mello waited about five minutes and when he didn’t see Near, decided to go out and investigate what could have possibly held him up.

He headed outside, towards the right side of the building, where he expected Near to be.

When Mello turned the corner, what he saw instantly elevated his blood pressure.

Near was being held up harshly by his white hair by one of the older boys at the institute. He was pinned with his back to the red brick by a forearm to his neck. His head was forcibly tilted upward, eyes shut and brow furrowed in obvious pain.

Mello stepped forward with restrained fury “You fuckers need to get off him.” He saw Near open his eyes from his peripheral.

Johnny then stepped in from of Mello. Mello eyed him cautiously. He was a big guy but was significantly overweight. Mello took an assessing glance around and counted a total of five boys, including the one restraining Near.

He could take them.

“Yeah? Or what?”

Mello punched Johnny right in the face before he realized what had happened. Johnny screamed in pain and fell to his knees, hands flying up to nurse the cartilage of his broken nose. Mello immediately pivoted on his left heel and, using all his weight, decked the boy on the left. At this point the two others had caught on and made a move to grab him but he ducked down into a leg spin and kicked one of them right in the jaw. The remaining boy grabbed his leg as it was still in the air and kneed Mello hard in his abdomen. Winded and off balance, Mello fell to the ground on both knees.

“You’re dead!” The second kid Mello punched had since recovered and hit Mello back with the same ferocity as the blow he had received. Mello screamed in pain, body pitching backward with the force of the blow. The kid smirked. An eye for an eye.

The other two not holding onto Near (or with a broken nose) lunged forward and restrained Mello, pinning him to the ground on his back. One of them sat on Mello’s abdomen and landed punch after punch to his face. Mello tried to buck him off, but he was too dazed and his opponent too heavy. Mello’s arms on each side were also held down by the others so he could only lie there and take each hit.

Finally, the bullies decided they had had enough. The one sitting on Mello got off and signaled for the one restraining Near to bring him over. Mello was still conscious but there was heavy bruising and blood on his face and chest. His face sported various cuts and a broken nose.

“Looks like your little hero stunt didn’t work out for you, Mello. You might be the second smartest kid here, but you’re jack shit when it comes to scrapping against me and my boys. Stick to what you’re good at, pretty boy.” The speaker grabbed Near by the upper arm, squeezing hard enough to draw a wince of pain and threw him to the ground next to Mello. Mello heard Near landing heavily on his hands and knees.

“Come on, let’s bring Johnny to the nurse.”

The five of them left without another word.

Mello was drifting into unconsciousness. He vaguely saw Near sitting up on his knees.

Near turned to Mello, and stated in his usual monotone, “That was an incredibly foolish thing to do, Mello.”

Closing his eyes, Mello rolled them hard and felt his lips twitching upward. _There_ was the little piece of shit he despised. “You’re welcome, damn sheep.”

When he reopened his eyes, Near’s (lack of) expression hadn’t changed. He also hadn’t moved from his spot. His face had always been difficult for Mello to read. “I don’t believe I offered thanks, nor do I intend to. You could have avoided injury had you not provoked those boys with your initial strikes.”

It was just like Near to make this his fault. He was being nice for once and this was the thanks he got? What was that expression? No good deed ever goes unpunished?

“I do, however, recognize that you were attempting to be chivalrous and I accept your intentions, however ill-executed.”

Well, that was probably as close to a thanks as he was ever going to get.

With a groan, Mello pushed himself up onto his forearms. He felt like shit. He glanced over at Near and noted with a small amount of pride that Near was virtually unharmed.

A thought occurred to him. Something he never imagined he would have thought of after taking a beating like he just did.

 _That was worth it_.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment! Constructive feedback is also appreciated.


End file.
